The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.

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Monday, August 6, 2018

Is there a New Israel Fund connection to the nation-state law protests? - Akiva Bigman

​by Akiva Bigman

Anu, a nonprofit group supported by the New Israel Fund and the driving ‎force behind the prolonged anti-corruption campaign targeting Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, is linked to anti-nation-state law campaign

The logo of the
campaign against the nation-state law with the slogan

"All Israelis are
equal"

Screenshot: Facebook

Could
the group stirring up weekly protests ‎outside Attorney General Avichai
Mendelblit's home for almost two years ‎also be involved in this
weekend's demonstration against the nation-state law? Evidence suggests
that this seems to ‎be the case. ‎

The protests outside Mendelblit's ‎Petach
Tikva home ‎‎began in late 2016, with hundreds gathering weekly ‎‎to
decry government corruption and what they ‎describe as the attorney
general's sluggish criminal ‎‎investigations against Prime ‎Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.‎

Anu, a nonprofit group supported by the
left-wing ‎organization the New Israel Fund, is the driving ‎force
behind the weekly protests in Petach Tikva. ‎

Founded in 2013, Anu describes its mission
‎as "promoting a vibrant and influential civil ‎society where every
citizen has the ability and ‎power to lead change, for a more inclusive
and ‎equitable society."

"We run campaigns targeting ‎Israel's most
pressing social issues," Anu's website says. "Promoting a ‎vibrant
democracy where Israelis have faith in their ‎own ability to impact
change."‎

The group has an annual budget of 1.5
million ‎shekels ($410,000) and in the 2015-2016 fiscal year, ‎the NIF
gave the group a $610,213 grant. It also received ‎funding from the
European Union and the United ‎Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural ‎Organization.‎

On Saturday, tens of thousands of Israelis
gathered in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square to protest against the nation-state
law – a law that anchors Israel's status as a Jewish state. Saturday's
demonstration revolved mainly around the fury felt by Israel's Druze
citizens, many of whom serve in the Israeli military and serve in key
positions in both the private and public sectors, at being relegated to
the status of second-class citizens, as non-Jewish residents of a Jewish
state.

It appeared that the group was involved in both efforts – the
anti-corruption demonstrations and the nation-state law protest – when
the group posted a call to the public on its website to attend the
nation-state protest and "support the Druze community and fight for
democracy and equality for everyone."

The group also added a message to a map on its website telling
protesters that "due to expected participation in the protest against
the nation-state law, the protests against corruption will be held on a
limited scale in most locations."

Separately, the official Facebook page of the Druze protest effort
includes a plea for donations, which can be deposited in a bank account
that is processed by Anu.

A statement by Anu said, "Last week we were
‎approached by [Druze leader Brig. Gen. (ret.)] Amal ‎Asad with a
request to help organize the protest. We agreed to help, but Anu did not
organize or ‎oversee the rally."

"Anu has been blessed with many ‎donors,"
the statement continued. "The New Israel Fund, which is one of them,
‎did not contribute to the rally. The NIF and Anu are ‎partners in
promoting the direct employment [of ‎minorities], which both the
government and the ‎Histadrut labor federation have adopted as part of
‎their agenda over the past two years."‎

Meanwhile, the Labor party on Saturday
filed a ‎police complaint against Likud activist Nidal ‎Ibrahim and
rapper Yoav Eliasi, commonly known by ‎his stage name "The Shadow," for
distributing online ‎screenshots of a series of fake text messages
‎allegedly exchanged between party members, in which ‎they seem to admit
they have been pushing Druze ‎leaders to stage the rally. ‎

‎"This entire exchange is 100% fake," a Labor ‎‎official said. ‎

Asad ‎also denied any knowledge of the issue.

Akiva BigmanSource: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/08/05/is-there-a-new-israel-fund-connection-to-the-nation-state-law-protests/ Follow Middle East and Terrorism on Twitter